His second trip to Port Angeles had gone just as smoothly as the first. Smoother, actually, without the bumpy bus ride. That had been a week ago.
Since then he'd spent the days holed up in his room, downing freshly brewed Wit-Sharpening potions and doggedly progressing his stunted education. With the nightly and early morning wakeups of Bella's vampire sneaking around, he had more than enough time to read. His only break had been his second visit to Jacob on Friday. If Hermione could see him now, he mused, eyes dried up from the heavy reading. He rubbed at them pointlessly.
The golden snitch Dumbledore willed to him fluttered by his head, prodding curiously at his hands. He caught it easily, the wings slowing down to a halt. "How did you get out?" The wings flapped again, like a dog's wagging tail. He shook his head at the affectionate inanimate object.
Letting it flutter around the room, he got back to reading.
A knock on the door soon brought his head out of the book again. He banished the snitch into his suitcase and quickly got up to answer.
It was Charlie, of course, however Harry hadn't expected Fawkes to be sitting on his shoulder, peering at him accusingly. Traitorous bird.
His uncle cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck uneasily. "Harry, I don't want to bother you, but," he hesitated, glancing at the bird, then remembered Fawkes couldn't give him advice. "You should eat," he pleaded instead.
Harry frowned in bewilderment. He had been eating. Definitely. He'd had some lasagne Monday night. It was only Wednesday now.
However, it wasn't worth arguing over. "Sorry, Uncle Charlie. I didn't mean to worry you."
Fawkes hopped over to Harry, warbling unhappily. He nipped at the boy's brow in disgruntlement.
"Ow, ok, I get it," Harry chuckled, holding up both hands to shield from the onslaught as they trailed into the kitchen.
Bella was already seated, quietly enjoying her meal. She smiled at Harry, "Look at what the ca—well, bird dragged in. I thought you'd drowned in all the books by now."
"Envy is a sin, Bella," he sniffed.
"I prefer my books on the shelves. Not covering the floor like a new hardwood."
"Don't knock it till you try it. They're quite soft and, you know, walking on hard surfaces has been proven to cause damage to your joints and backs."
"But—" she paused, contemplating intensely for a second, "you have carpet flooring!"
He chuckled in response, grabbing a plate and served up a small portion of the well-smelling stew Bella was no doubt responsible for. Harry had quickly learned Charlie couldn't cook. He ate slowly, the leaf stuck to the roof of his mouth making the food taste quite funny.
"What are you studying so hard for anyway?" Charlie asked curiously, grateful his nephew was at least having dinner.
Oh, right, he should probably inform his guardian of his schooling decision. "I want to go to the High School here," he said promptly.
Charlie's eyes widened. "You want to go to school?" he clarified.
"I'd rather not waste a whole year sitting on my arse," Harry smiled. Rather, he'd prefer not to draw muggle attention by staying out of school, he already had enough eyes on him with the vampires and Quileutes.
"So you're worried about the entrance exam?" Bella inferred. Harry nodded. "I told you I'd help you study."
"I wanted a head-start." A head-start to a seven year-long stunted education. "You're far more advanced than me," he stated plainly, shrugging. You don't go to the Head Auror to learn how to fight pixies after all.
Bella blushed at the unintended compliment. Honestly, most twelve-year-olds had been more scientifically advanced than him less than a week ago. Now he could be proud to say he'd progressed past the knowledge cap of preadolescences, and it only took him half a decade more than most. Well, some two odd years of muggle knowledge crammed into a week wasn't too bad, thank Merlin for magic.
"I'm sure that's not true," she denied. "Didn't you go to some fancy boarding school?"
"It specialized in other subjects, not science," he dismissed. Indeed, magic was the antithesis to muggle science so learning something so wholly opposite of what they could experience themselves would've been extremely counterproductive. When you can turn tables into pigs, particle theories don't really seem so important. And with literature they had enough of their own. Maths, however, they could've covered a bit more at Hogwarts than just through arithmancy, Harry thought.
They ate in peace for a while. Apparently, he'd been hungrier than he thought as he managed to finish the whole plate.
Thanking his cousin, he rinsed of his plate. "I'll get back to reading," he sighed. Every time he blinked, he could still see the tiny font letters as an imprint on the inside of his eyelids. He wasn't sure if it was an after-effect of the Wit-Sharpening or just from his incessant studying.
"So do you plan to leave the house at all this summer?" Bella questioned sarcastically.
"Of course." Lightning storms would be hard to encounter without heading outside, and they were a vital component in his semi-hatched patchy plan for the next year. "To get more books. I still have the walls to cover," he joked.
Bella, for her inability to conceal her emotions, held an impressive poker-face at his words. Or perhaps she was just utterly exasperated with him. Actually, it was more likely the latter. "You're terrible." She couldn't hide the smile creeping up the corner of her mouth.
"What, it's good insulation. Winter's cold here, I heard."
"That it is," Charlie agreed. "So enjoy the summer while it's here. Get some sunlight," Charlie insisted. "You're starting to look paler than the Cullens."
Bella looked over him critically, but nodded after a moment, "You'd fit right in at this point."
Harry scowled, "It's not that bad."
They both looked unconvinced.
"It's not like there's much sunlight out here anywhere."
"Then get some air," Charlie reiterated. "Go see Jacob."
Fawkes trilled eagerly, bobbing his head up and down in agreement.
"Good sport, Fawkes! Seems you got a chaperon, kid," his uncle grinned.
"Teaming up against me? I'll get you all back for this," Harry warned. Charlie didn't seem too perturbed. Turning on his heel, he exited the kitchen, Fawkes warbling happily as they left the house.
The sun strung his eyes. Merlin, he really was turning into a vampire at this point. A break from his reading perhaps wasn't too terrible of an idea. He wandered off towards the bus stop. Once out of sight from the house, his feet veered off to the forest, away from any inquisitive onlookers.
Fawkes didn't waste time, porting them both close to a road near Jacob's home. The rest of the way was a short walk, his clothes and shoes getting slightly damp from the dewy bushes in his way. At least he'd put on a rain jacket, so it wasn't too bad.
He knocked on the worn door.
"One second!" sounded from inside.
A moment later Jacob peered out, grinning when he caught sight of Harry.
"Harry! Oh, Fawkes!" he gaped enthusiastically. The phoenix flapped his wings and trilled, equally excited. The burnt turkey really seemed to enjoy his friend's company, they'd hit it off immediately when Harry had brought him over last Friday. He didn't know if it was Jacob's sunny personality doing it, or his supply of snacks.
"Charlie chased me out of the house," Harry complained once inside, falling back into the couch. "What kind of responsible adult tells their wards they're studying too much?"
"Ugh, don't mention the s-word, I just finished my exams," Jacob grumbled from the kitchen, no doubt checking the fridge for snacks to give the shameless fire bird. "High school is hell," he said, rustling around as he looked. Fawkes was avidly awaiting his snacks whilst perching on a chair behind him, craning his neck to look past the boy. "Don't get why you wanna go there."
"I have to prepare. I promised Billy I'd home-school you when they expel you."
He bumped his head on the fridge when straightening out. "Ow," he grunted, a hand to his head. "Very funny," he deadpanned, before turning to Fawkes, tone apologetic, "Sorry, boy, all out of bacon."
Fawkes lowered his head, trilling sadly.
If Harry didn't know better, he'd feel bad for the bird. Unfortunately, Jacob was unaware of the bird's manipulations.
"Aw, let's go to the store then," he promised. Check mate. Dumbledore must've learned much from his time with the phoenix, Harry's life serving as evidence. Fawkes lit up, figuratively; his plan a success. "Come on, get off the couch," Jacob called, already in the hallway.
Harry groaned, but followed. "You're spoiling him!"
In response, Jacob threw his coat at him.
They meandered down towards the shop, Fawkes staying behind to avoid the busy store crowd. It wasn't sunny, the clouds disallowing any light, but the rain had subsided for now.
Finally approaching the plain wooden building, Jacob ran ahead, rounding the corner and disappearing out of sight, eager to find something tasty for the avian master-manipulator.
A trace of something familiar disturbed his senses as he followed after. He paused his step as he too turned the corner, gazing curiously ahead. Jared was leaning against the side of the building, directly in his path. The boy returned the stare, startled at the sudden meeting. Two others flanked him, Harry recognizing one of them as Sam Uley. The other he'd never seen. All three were stood not too far from the store entrance.
He waved amiably, moving to join his friend inside the store.
He probably should've expected that Uley would take offence to that, considering he'd taken offence to mostly everything he'd done. The man and his third friend moved to block his way. Harry had to commend him; he wasn't shaking this time, perhaps feeling safer with his little posse.
Jared also stepped off the wall, looking conflicted.
"Sam," he started quietly, "we're not supposed to—"
Uley threw him a dark look, shutting him up swiftly, before turning his attention back to Harry.
"You've already been informed; you're not welcome here," he said in a low voice, arms crossed over his chest. Harry could see his knuckles whitening from the strain of his clenched fists.
Harry tilted his head. "And?"
The unfamiliar boy snorted, smirking at Harry impudently. "So scram," he chuckled. "We won't tell you twice."
Ignoring that they already had, in fact, told them twice, Harry smiled. "Three on one? Not very fair. For you."
Uley bared his teeth.
"Hey!" Jacob called from the entrance. He rushed over, dropping his bag. Pushing past the three, he placed himself in front of his friend. "Stop bothering Harry," he demanded, shaky and nervous, "Dad's already told you off, Sam! Why won't you leave him alone."
"This doesn't concern you, Jacob," Uley intoned forcefully.
"Hell it doesn't!" he exclaimed.
Uley stepped forward, a dark look on his face. Jacob swallowed heavily, but stood his ground. Harry saw his hand quiver and went to stand by his side, shoulders touching lightly in comfort.
The man was trembling in rage. Harry picked up a spark of something teeming as his ire grew. His eyes narrowed. This could be dangerous to Jacob. He would stomp it down should it develop any further.
Jared gripped his friend's arm before it could, face several degrees paler. "Let's just go, Sam," he pleaded.
The taller man shook the hand off but refrained from any further confrontation. Turning on his heel, he stalked off, his duo scrambling to follow. A couple steps later he stumbled catching himself on the wooden supports of the shop building before disappearing around the corner. It seemed he'd gotten somewhat used to his newfound unexplained clumsiness.
Jared threw them both an apologetic glance, but the other complained as they retreated, "Should've taught them a lesson."
Jacob breathed out heavily, taking a moment to calm down. "Sam's terrifying," he whined in a more relaxed tone, striding over to pick up his bag again. "Although I never noticed how clumsy he actually is before this last week. He trips on air, I swear."
Harry chuckled, giving him a reassuring slap on the back, grateful for his intervention however unnecessary. Ignoring the clumsiness comment, he smirked, "You mean terrified, he was positively shaking in dread from the almighty fifteen-year-old in front of him."
The scathing look sent in response was disregarded with a smile as they walked back home.
Fawkes greeted them at the door, immediately landing on Jacob's arm to nip at the bag in his hand.
"Wow, careful," Jacob exclaimed, struggling to keep his balance with the heavy bird latched onto him.
"Told you to watch your weight, Fawkes," Harry tutted.
The hours ticked away quicker than Harry would've liked. When Billy returned late in the evening, driven home by one of his friends, Harry and Jacob were laying flat on the living room floor, cards in hand. Harry smiled languidly in greeting when Billy passed by. But Jacob's eyes were firmly fixed to his fanned out hand, where they'd been for the past four minutes as he tried to figure out what move to pull next.
Fawkes peered over his shoulder. "Don't peek! Your bird's cheating, Harry!" Jacob accused. The phoenix squawked indignantly.
"You got school tomorrow, Jake," Billy reminded him, taking a glance at the clock showing ten thirty. "No gambling after eleven."
"We're not gambling! Just playing." Jacob frowned determinedly down at his cards, moving a hand before once again freezing and letting it fall. He inspected them closely for the tenth time.
"More like stalling," Harry corrected with a chuckle. "I should get going anyway."
"It's so late, let me call Charlie to come pick you up," Billy insisted.
"I can drive him," Jacob piped up from the floor, excited again.
Billy already had the phone by his ear, waiting for the click. "I don't think the Sheriff will appreciate that, son."
Considering the underaged boy didn't have his license yet, Harry had to concur. Jacob pouted, but remained mute as Billy spoke on the phone. Waiting for Harry's uncle to arrive, they continued their card game.
"You're cheating for sure," his friend whined after losing once again. "Fawkes giving you the good cards?"
"You're blaming a bird for your incompetence?"
The loud roar of a dying car's engine rolled up closer then, interrupting whatever masterly comeback Jacob would've undoubtably provided. "Huh, that's Bella's truck," he remarked instead, a slight pink dusting his cheeks.
Harry got up. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to say hi," he inferred, smirking.
Jake scrambled to get up then, following him to the door just as a knock sounded. He opened it quickly. "Hey Bella," he smiled widely.
"Hello Jacob," Bella greeted back kindly.
"Thanks for coming, Bells," Harry said, slipping into his shoes and coat. Fawkes flew past, settling himself in the car.
Bella, always a little startled by the bird, moved back quickly as he went by. "It's no trouble. Charlie had a couple beers already, so I came 'round instead."
"You're welcome here whenever you want," Jacob shot in quickly. If he had a tail he'd be wagging it, Harry thought. The younger boy didn't take his eyes off her face.
Bella smiled, a little awkwardly. Putting a hand on her back, Harry guided her back to the car before the appreciative smile could make her more uncomfortable. "We'd best get home, Jake's got to go to bed."
His warm gaze snapped to Harry with a scowl then, but quickly softened to sheepishness when Harry glanced back at him incredulously. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
As they drove home, Bella was silently clutching the wheel, looking ahead resolutely. Harry wondered if Jacob's obvious interest had uneased her that badly. "You alright?" he decided on asking, not wanting to assume it had anything to do with his friend. It was just a harmless crush after all.
Bella startled a little, having been caught deep in thought. She glanced at him, eyes round, before blushing and looking away nervously. It wasn't awkwardness, Harry realized, but guilt?
She cleared her throat before Harry could formulate his questions. "I may have," she hesitated, rethinking before speaking again. "When I first came here, I had some questions, regarding – uh, something," she started. "And," another pause, "well, I met Jacob on a visit to La Push. It seemed like he knew something. But he said he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, so..." A blush, "I sort of, tried to, well I spoke to him. I may have laid it on a bit thick."
It took a moment, a long moment, for Harry to understand what she was getting at. When he did, he gaped, before bellowing out a laugh. "That poor boy," he finally managed to wheeze out. "Wow, I'd never have thought you the type, Bella."
She frowned. "I'm not! I just, well," she trailed off.
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
"Not dead yet," she muttered, sounding almost unhappy about her state of living.
Harry shook his head with a smile. "Here I thought he'd been making you uncomfortable," he chuckled.
"No," she denied quickly, shaking her head. "Well, a little, but that's my own fault. I just felt really bad," she admitted. "But he's nice."
He leaned back again in his seat, relaxing. "Why don't you come along next time?"
She blinked, thoughtful. Bella almost looked hopeful when she spoke again. "You don't think it'd be awkward? I don't wanna ruin the mood."
That was the least of his worries. "It'll be fun," he asserted. "Besides," a sly smirk threatened his lips, "you've got to make up for taking advantage of a boy's heart like that."
Her face flamed crimson and she looked away, keeping her eyes firmly on the road the rest of the drive.
…
Another week went by quickly. Harry was quietly reading and taking notes at the small dining table in the evening, both Charlie and Bella out on their errands. He was well into the High School curriculum at this point and had been planning to ask Bella for study sessions when he'd finished with the eleventh grade syllabus. She had just finished her eleventh year and so going through it all with her should help him understand further.
He still had the mandrake leaf stuck to the inside of his mouth. The process was necessary, but tedious, carrying a bad aftertaste with each gulp. How his father and friends had managed to bear through this at fifteen was beyond him, but he supposed they'd had a good reason. Just as he did now, he reminded himself.
He had two weeks left to figure out where to gather the last component and the placement for its completion. The slam of a door interrupted his contemplating.
Bella threw herself down on the dining table chair across from him. Holding her face up with both hands, she sighed, the picture of teen melodrama. Harry put his pen down to indulge her theatrics.
"The days are too short," she whined. "It's summer. When we went to Jacob's yesterday he said to come back whenever! The only reason Charlie is upholding the curfew is cause of Edward."
The vampire hadn't stepped foot in through the front door for weeks, preferring the window in the cover of darkness instead. "Maybe you're allowed more time with him if you two spend your days here," he suggested. Charlie probably wouldn't mind as long as he knew where his daughter was.
She shook her head. "Edward's terrified of your bird," she sighed. "Nothing else scares him, but Fawkes…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "I suppose I can understand it, he's got some sharp talons! What kind of bird is he anyway?"
"Who knows," Harry shrugged, lazily flipping the pages of his book. "Looks like a turkey to me."
She laughed, "You better watch your tongue, if he heard you, you'd be toast." Scarily accurate.
"He's out. Actually, Fawkes' out most of the day anyway, just bring the ornithophobe* over then."
She fidgeted, "It's not just the curfew." Reddening in either embarrassment or anger, she continued, "Charlie's set visitation hours. Only for Edward." Bella rolled her eyes. "He worries so much."
"Can you imagine? A father being worried about his daughter? Awful," Harry agreed impishly.
She pouted at him. "It's just annoying," Bella sighed. "I don't get permission to see Edward as much as I'd like."
Harry snorted, if every day and night wasn't enough for her he almost felt bad for her sleepless vampire beau. Apparently 'time to yourself' was an unfamiliar concept.
"What," she frowned.
Harry shook his head and focused back on his notes, he didn't think he had to voice exactly where the leech stayed most nights. She poked him in the side. "Hey," he complained.
"I'm whining about my problems, I expect comfort not laughs," she harrumphed flippantly. "You've got it easy! He let's you get away with anything." Another poke.
Harry twisted away, chuckling. "Why be bothered about it. It's not like you're asking permission every night anyway," he teased.
Her face contorted in confusion. "Every night?"
Rolling his eyes, he again went back to the paper. What the two of them were up to wasn't any of his business. Bella, apparently, did not think the same. She grabbed the notes from under his hands, holding it away from him with a triumphant grin.
"Now then?" she dared.
Instead of rising to the bait, he leaned back in his chair. Did she really think Edward was that sneaky, he wondered. "Bells, my room's right under yours," he stated simply, counting on that being enough for her to understand the vampire's curfew-violating visits weren't that subtle.
"Yeah?" she frowned, drawing out the word in bewilderment.
He grimaced slightly to hold down a laugh, "Bella, I keep my window open and I wake very easily."
She was still staring at him incomprehensively.
Harry leaned forward again, putting his elbow on the dining table and supporting his chin on his knuckle. "Sorry, I assumed it was your boyfriend climbing up the wall every night. Didn't realize you had someone else over for slumber parties," he remarked, smirking impertinently.
Her face lit up crimson.
The younger boy pushed himself up to his feet, reaching over and grabbing his paper back from his stunned cousin's hand.
"That's not, I mean," she fumbled with her words. "It's not what you think." Her cheeks were still a bright pink.
Harry hummed in amiable agreement, gathering up the rest of his things, wholly uninterested in their nightly activities. With everything in hand, he strolled out of the kitchen.
"Don't tell Charlie!" Bella insistently called from the kitchen before Harry closed the door behind him to his own room.
…
Notes: *Ornithophobe: someone who's got a phobia of birds.
Wow, a line break in this chapter, that's new. *-*
To clarify, the manipulator comment was just comical to me, and (in my head) to Harry as well. I don't think of Dumbledore as an evil puppeteer and neither does Harry.
Aside from that, I am aware last chapter had a confrontation with Sam as well, but as we are hopping ahead (to avoid spending 10 chapters describing Harry's everyday actions) that was a week ago. Considering how Sam reacted to Bella's mutant child, I kinda think it's how he'd react to the unknown danger Harry presents. The only thing stopping him from trying to outright kill Harry is probably; 1) Billy, who's vetoed that whole plan, and 2) Harry himself. Going after a vampire family for having a vampire kid was one thing: at that point they'd fought an army of new-borns and were veteran vamp killers. Going after a wholly unknown powerful being who their instinct scream at them for approaching and that seems utterly unafraid of them however… At least with still such a small pack, Sam is forced to await further action.
Otherwise, suppose most of you can guess what Harry needs the mandrake leaves for. The process is cannon lore, I promise. I also thought it was weird but rolled with it.
Right, monologue over!